CHINESE CUISINE

There is a Chinese saying that goes “food is heaven for the people”. With over 5000 named
dishes, Chinese cuisine is as varied as the country’s different peoples and geographical areas.
Traditionally, Chinese cuisine is meant to be enjoyed for its: appearance and aroma, taste and
texture, balance and harmony of yin and yang elements, and its nutritious properties. The
three essential factors, by which Chinese cooking is judged, are known as color, aroma and
taste. The color of Chinese food, the first of these factors which is so evident in a Chinese
banquet. Aroma implies more than what's the nose can detect directly, it also includes the
freshness of the raw materials used and the blending of seasoning. Taste is the art of proper
seasoning, though it also involves the texture of the food and fine slicing skills. These three
factors are achieved by the careful coordination of a series of delicate activities, including
selecting ingredients, cutting, mixing flavors, timing the cooking, controlling the heat and
finally, laying out the food on the plate for the table.

However, there are a number of distinctive styles from different regions that contribute to the
whole of Chinese cuisine, and of these there are eight specific culinary traditions that are
recognized throughout Chinese society and around the globe.
These eight culinary cuisines are Anhui, Cantonese, Fujian, Hunan, Jiangsu, Shandong,
Szechuan and Zhejiang.

Anhui (Hui)
Anhui cuisine is derived from the native cooking styles of the people located in the Huangshan
Mountains region in China. Although it is similar to Jiangsu cuisine, there is less emphasis on
seafood and more on a wide variety of locally grown herbs and vegetables from both the land
and the sea.
Cantonese (Yu)
Due to Guangdong’s proximity to the South China Sea, the people of the region have access to
a plentiful supply of imported food and fresh seafood. Cantonese cuisine incorporates almost
all edible meats, including chicken feet, duck’s tongue, snakes and snails. However, due to
availability, lamb and goat are rarely eaten. Many cooking techniques are used, including wok
hei (stir frying) and steaming. Spices are used moderately, and fresh herbs are seldom added
to the food. Dishes include dim sum, small morsels of food typically served at breakfast or
lunch alongside tea; barbequed char siu, sticky and burnt red in color; and clear broths
flavored with meat stock.
Fujian (Min)
Fujian cuisine is influenced by its coastal position and mountainous terrain, and ingredients
such as woodland mushrooms, bamboo shoots, fish, shellfish and turtles are used regularly.
The cuisine in this area is known to have particular emphasis on umami taste; the dishes are
notoriously light and flavorful.
Hunan (Xiang)
Like Szechuan cuisine, Hunan food is renowned for being hot and spicy, with garlic, chili
peppers and shallots used liberally. However, unlike Szechuan cuisine, it is known for being
purely hot as opposed to the searing, numbing heat of Szechuan cooking.
Jiangsu (Su)
Jiangsu cuisine consists of a several different styles of Chinese cooking, namely Huaiyang,
Yangzhou, Nanjing, Suzhou and Zhenjiang. The food in Jiangsu cuisine is known as being soft,
but not to the point of falling apart: the meat tastes tender but wouldn’t separate from the
bone when picked up.
Shandong (Lu)
Derived from the native cooking styles of Shandong, a northern coastal province of China,
Shandong cuisine consists of two predominant styles: Jiaodong, characterized by light seafood
dishes; and Jinan, a style that features the use of soup in its dishes. Although it is less available
in the West, Shandong cuisine is often considered one of the most influential styles of cooking
in the Chinese culinary history.
Szechuan (Chuan)
Szechuan cuisine is renowned for its use of bold flavors; chili, garlic and Szechuan pepper are
used liberally throughout the dishes. Szechuan pepper has a unique taste: it is intensely
fragrant, citrusy and causes a numbing sensation in the mouth. Szechuan cuisine often
contains food that has been preserved through pickling, salting and drying.
Zhejiang (Zhe)
In general, Zhejiang food is fresh and light rather than greasy. It consists of at least four styles
of cooking: Hangzhou, characterized by the use of rich foods and bamboo shoots; Shaoxing,
specializing in poultry and fish; Ningbo, specializing in seafood; and Shanghai, with xiao long
bao.
 FROM ANOTHER ARTICLE:

1. Guangdong/Cantonese Cuisine
Making a great variety of soup is a feature of Cantonese cuisine.

 Chinese: 粤菜 Yuècài

 Sweeter, favoring braising and stewing, adding various mild sauces

Cantonese food is the most popular style internationally. Guangdong Province and Hong Kong are
noted for fine seafood dishes and rice dishes.

They eat a very wide variety of foods. The dishes they serve don't have strong flavors since it is lightly
seasoned, and they often tend to be a little sweet. More on Yue cuisine...

2. Sichuan Cuisine

 Chinese: 川菜 Chuāncài

 Spicy and bold, often mouth-numbing, using lots of chili, garlic, ginger, and peanuts

Sichuan Province produced the most widely served cuisine in China. Their dishes are famous for their
hot-spicy taste and the numbing flavor of Sichuan peppercorn that is rare in other regional cuisines.
It is the food of Chengdu and Chongqing (which used to be part of Sichuan). More on Chuan cuisine...

3. Jiangsu Cuisine
Su cuisine features sweet foods. Sweet and sour spare ribs is a famous dish from Jiangsu.

 Chinese: 苏菜 Sūcài

 Fresh, moderately salty and sweet, precise cooking techniques, favoring seafood, soups and
artistic, colorful presentation

Jiangsu Province and China's biggest city, Shanghai, have a very refined gourmet cuisine that is
often served at government banquets.
 What makes it special is the exquisite cooking techniques that produce richly aromatic and visually
artistic dishes. Their chefs also focus on serving meals that promote health. More on Su cuisine...

4. Zhejiang Cuisine

 Chinese: 浙菜 Zhècài

 Mellow, using fresh seafood, freshwater fish, and bamboo shoots, and a wide variety of cooking
methods.

Zhejiang Province is the province south of Jiangsu, and it borders on Shanghai too, so their style is
similar to theirs, but it is less elaborately prepared. They focus more on serving fresh food.

The food is often served raw or almost raw and is fresh and crispy and seasonal. It is more like
Japanese food. Ningbo cuisine is very salty. More on Zhe cuisine...

5. Fujian/Min Cuisine

 Chinese: 闽菜 Mǐncài

 Lighter, with a mild sweet and sour taste, using ingredients from the sea and the mountains

Fujian Province is known for great seafood and soups and the precise use of scintillating but not
tongue numbing spices. Adding much wild exotic delicacies from the sea and mountains makes their
dishes have unusual flavors. It is like a culinary wild adventure. More on Min cuisine...

6. Hunan Cuisine
People in the Hunan region can't seem to live without chilies; no dish is complete without chilies in Hunan cuisine.

 Chinese: 湘菜 Xiāngcài

 Quite spicy, with a hot and sour taste, favoring sautéing, stir-frying, steaming and smoking

If you like Sichuan food, you'll probably like Hunan food too since it is even hotter. It is tastier and more
delicious because they don't use peppercorn that numbs the mouth.
 It is a rich agricultural area that produces a broad range of vegetables and herbs, and these are served
up. More on Xiang cuisine...

7. Anhui Cuisine

 Chinese: 徽菜 Huīcài

 Uses many wild plants and animals as ingredients, favoring stewing and more oil

Anhui cuisine is even wilder than Fujian cuisine. It is inland, and big mountains such as the Yellow
Mountains are the source of lots of different wild foods and herbs. It is basically a hearty mountain
peasant food. Some of the best dishes incorporate wild food for an unusual taste. Some dishes are
sweet from added sugar. More on Hui cuisine...

8. Shandong Cuisine

 Chinese: 鲁菜 Lǔcài

 Salty and crispy, favoring braising and seafood

Shandong was one of the first civilized areas, and it set the pattern for northern styles of cooking. With
a long coast, seafood is its forte.